Online Exhibitions
A collaborative project that explored how design students could learn from archives through the medium of an online exhibition
Project Leader: Jane Devine Mejia;
Project Members: CETLD: Sina Krause, Roland Mathews, Heloisa Candello; University of Brighton: Catherine Moriarty, Stan Stanier, Patrick Letschka, Jacqui Chanarin and the second-year Visual Research class; Royal College of Art: Neil Parkinson, Chris Mitchell, Harriet McKay, Jeremy Aynsley and the MA History of Design students; Royal Institute of British Architects: Robert Elwall, Susan Pugh, Paul Snell, Catherine Duncumb (RIBA/V&A); Victoria & Albert Museum: Christopher Marsden, Abraham Thomas; National Trust: Rebecca Milner
Abstract
The Online Exhibitions Project aimed to encourage design students and tutors to explore the CETLD partner archives. Working with students from the University of Brighton and the Royal College of Art, we tested a prototype online exhibition and assessed how it could be used for teaching and learning.
The exhibition focused on 2 Willow Road, a modernist house in London designed by noted architect Ernö Goldfinger, and featured photographs and drawings from the Royal Institute of British Architects and the University of Brighton Design Archives. The National Trust worked closely on planning and hosting student visits to the house and on assessing their learning experience. This project led to a new version of the online exhibition on the social networking site Community@Brighton, a potential model for future collaborative projects that connect archives, creative practice and design studies.
Student quotes
“There is a lot of information to find in the Archives and I would definitely try and revisit to research into future projects.”
“…the images certainly give a wide visual catalogue of the Willow Road site from plans + photos to sketches that explain Goldfinger’s thought process.”
“the drawings are certainly going to be useful for my work. It made me think differently about ideas and approach…”
Related links
Online Exhibitions and Archives: A Collaborative Project for Teaching and Learning in Design (EVA London Conference, 2009)
